Obaseki pursues science policy, decries delayed justice for Omozuwa

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, brought together stakeholders in science and technology to develop the state’s policy on science, technology and innovation, in line with the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) Agenda of the government.

The interactive session, taking place at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy in Benin City and scheduled to last till Friday, has the theme: ‘Arousing the Collective views of all for Sustainable Science, Technology and Innovation Policy’.

Participants at the session include representatives of Benin branch of Bank of Industry (BoI) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); staff and management of University of Benin (UNIBEN) and University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH); Welders’ Union; management of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC); Science Teachers Association of Nigeria; Mathematical Association of Nigeria; heads of administration of various local councils; permanent secretaries and commissioners, among others.

Declaring the session open, Obaseki said his government was promoting innovation and deploying technology to drive sustainable growth and development.

He expressed confidence that the deliberation with stakeholders would provide guidelines, insights and valuable inputs to properly position the state for an industrial revolution, driven by science, technology and innovation.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Bartholomew Brai, thanked the governor for his commitment to industrialisation in the state through science, technology and innovation.

ALSO yesterday, Obaseki expressed concern over the delay in the investigation and prosecution of those behind the rape and murder of late Uwaila Omozuwa, a 100 level microbiology student of the University of Benin.

The late Uwaila Omozuwa was murdered in 2020 at a church in Benin City, the Edo State capital. Obaseki, while declaring open the ‘End of Project Workshop’ for the National Academy for Science, noted that delayed justice for victims was impeding the fight against gender-based violence in the state.

The workshop has the theme, “Strengthening the Evidence and Response Pathways for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in key states in Nigeria.”

The governor said: “Two years after Uwaila Omozuwa was brutally murdered in Benin City, we have still not been able to prosecute the perpetrators of this dastardly act. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) insisted that this case should be moved to police headquarters.

“As we speak, the investigation is stalling. This is really, really sad and we will not be able to make progress in our fight against gender-based violence if we can’t get reports from the very highest authorities in Nigeria.”

Earlier, wife of the governor Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, who is also the chairperson of the Edo State Gender-Based Violence Management Committee, said the state planned to establish GBV centres in proposed Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across 192 wards of the state.